


The Caged Wolf

by ConorOberstFan



Category: Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Brothers, Prison, Redemption, daniel diaz - Freeform, sean diaz - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25089709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConorOberstFan/pseuds/ConorOberstFan
Summary: This is a unfinished post Redemption fanfic, currently with 7 chapters. I probably won't be finishing this fic.
Relationships: Daniel Diaz & Sean Diaz, Sean Diaz & Lyla Park
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's important to note that this fic may have some formatting issues, as it used to be uploaded on the website, before I took it down, and as I am reuploading it, I am just copy and pasting it from my document files into the text, so the formatting might be a little jarring.

_July 4th, 2017_

“So, how does the story of the wolf brothers end?” Daniel Diaz asks his brother, staring over a horde of police cars at the U.S. side of the Mexican border.

Sean ponders this question for a while. They’ve both been on a massive journey up to this point- should they just give up? The whole thing is taking a massive toll on his mind.

If they give up, Daniel will be safe. But, how can they do that after all this time? All the shit they’ve been through, everything they’ve sacrificed, will have all been pointless. He thinks through everything they’ve done, how much stronger he’s become, how much stronger his _brother_ has become. Sean knows that Daniel could kill them all in just a short flash, if he had to, but how can he make his brother do that?

Daniel’s already been through so much at just ten years old. It wouldn’t be fair to force him to go through more. Plus, how were they going to live in Mexico? Daniel doesn’t know much Spanish. And Puerto Lobos, well, there are a million different things that could have happened to it by now. It might not even be there anymore.

It’s just not who they are. They didn’t kill Lisbeth when she took advantage of Daniel. They let her go. They didn’t take advantage of the vigilantes being powerless in that cell. Sean could’ve asked Daniel to separate their necks from their bodies. But he didn’t. He walked right past them and moved on.

Even the police officers who came for them earlier were dispatched non-lethally. The only person the brothers killed was Officer Matthews, and that, that was an accident. One that Sean wishes he could go back and change, but he knows he can’t. His father is dead, and Sean and Daniel are both sitting in front of a fucking border station, considering the possibility of murdering dozens of police. 

Sean knows Daniel could do it. Daniel knows he could do it. But they can’t. What would Esteban say?

So after a long thought, Sean decides, “I think their story ends right here,” he says as his voice cracks.

“Here?” Daniel asks, wiping his eyes. “But-but I could,” Daniel looks directly into Sean’s eyes, as if to say, _”I’m scared, big brother. Please make me feel better,”_ and then his face grows wearier, as he continues, “I get it. It’s not who we are.”

“Exactly,” Sean starts, trying to be strong for his little brother. “We’re not criminals. We’re just kids. And we still have time to choose what life we want to live. You’re my brother, and I love you.”

“I- I love you too, Sean,” Daniel says as he wraps his arms around Sean, treasuring every moment that he still has with his brother. 

Daniel wraps his arms around Sean. “It’s gonna be alright,” Sean tells him, wishing he believed that himself. “Promise.”

“You promise?” Daniel asks. “For real, this time?” Daniel says as he holds Sean even closer.

Sean lowers himself down to look at his brother face to face, “I do,” He says. “We’re doing the right thing. Just, try and remember what I taught you. I mean, only the good shit,” Sean almost starts to laugh, but all that comes out is a cracked sob.

“I will,” Daniel says. “I swear,” Daniel’s arms are wrapped tightly around Sean, as he cries into him.

The brothers look at each other for one last time, taking in everything they can and making the most of the little time they have, and as they exit the car, with their hands up, police start to surround them.

“On your knees! I SAID ON YOUR KNEES, NOW!” One of the officers shouts, and they drop. They feel the sharp, scraggy rocks on the road dig into their knees. As the officers continue to close in, they lie down on the ground, with their hands behind their backs.

They look at each other, knowing they won’t see each other as free men again for a very long time. As the brothers are still treasuring each moment they have, the police lock Sean’s hands in tight handcuffs, and lift him up to his feet.

Agent Flores approaches him. “I’m sorry about all this,” She says, as she puts her hand on Sean’s shoulder. “We’re gonna look after your brother. That’s my word,” She says as Sean thinks, _It better be._ All he gives a shit about now is whether Daniel will be taken care of, whether he will be _loved._ He deserves to be loved. 

A squad car drives up, and Sean feels a slow breeze of the car driving through, along with the smell of gasoline.“Okay, he’s ready,” Agent Flores says.

Daniel gets up. “Sean, no!” Agent Flores holds him back. “SEAN! COME BACK!” Daniel starts bawling, and writhes in Flores' arms. He just wants one more minute. One more hug. One more _”enano, I love you.”_

“Daniel!” Sean yells back at him. “You’re not a little wolf anymore! Never forget who you are! Never!” And as Sean looks back, he realizes just how much his brother has grown. His maturity is showcased extensively under the burning, bright spotlight of the Arizona sun.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ah-h-hh-h,” Daniel cries as he watches Sean be taken away. Sean said he wasn’t a little wolf anymore, and he knows that’s true, but he wishes it wasn’t. He wants to be a little wolf. To have everyone treat him like a puppy who needs to be protected, to get tucked in with hugs and kisses every night, and most of all, he wants to be that “little shit” again. That kid without a worry in the world. That kid who convinced his dad to leave the house just so Sean had to babysit him, and he got to spend more time with his brother. That kid who barged into Sean’s room sometimes just to give him a hug, despite how many of his friends he was on a video call with. That kid who still had a dad. That kid who still had a brother. A free one, anyway.

As Agent Flores leads him into a police car, Daniel looks down at his feet the whole way, bawling.

Soundtrack: I Won’t Ever Be Happy Again by Bright Eyes

Sean and Daniel both have long car rides ahead, yet their purposes are totally opposite. Sean’s driving into confinement, into a cage, a loss of freedom. Daniel’s driving into a normal life, to be a normal kid, to be happy again. But how can he be happy without Sean?

The driver takes Daniel’s car onto a different road then Sean’s, and Daniel stares out the back window, watching his brother get further and further away. The next time Daniel sees Sean, if he sees him again, will be, well, who knows what it will be? Supervised? Most likely. Short? Probably. Sean will be a husk of himself. And so will he.

The driver of Daniel’s car tells him he will be taken to his grandparents, and Agent Flores sits with him in the back seat, trying to make conversation. But he won’t talk. Daniel doesn’t care if he lost his voice. Who gives a shit? It’s not worth talking anyway. After a while, Flores just gives up.

A quick thought pulses through Daniel’s head. He could escape the car with his powers. Maybe he could rescue Sean. But his mind quickly dismisses this, Daniel knowing that it’s not who they are. And just remembering that conversation he had with Sean only a few minutes ago is enough to make him sob.

“A-hh-hhh-h,” Agent Flores tries to comfort him, but Daniel yells at her through tears. Why would he accept that from the woman who stole his brother’s freedom? But then again, she wasn’t the one who forced them on the run, that was Officer Matthews. Or, actually, it was Brett, right? Or . . . _fuck,_ Daniel thinks. _It was me. I spilled that blood on him. I started it._

Upon realizing this, Daniel can’t control his emotions. Which emotions, he isn’t sure. Sadness, anger, disgust, regret, every single possible negative feeling flows through him. He screams, startling Agent Flores, and pounds on the window of the squad car until Flores restrains him.

In that moment, he feels all the injustice of his life, that was bottled up for so long, start flooding out. He wants to use his power. He wants to crunch Flores neck into dust, and blow this fucking car into a million motherfucking pieces, but his mind nearly immediately dismisses this thought, making Daniel disgusted by himself. _It’s not who we are,_ Daniel thinks, and starts bawling once again in the middle of that thought, as if a switch is hit every time he thinks of Sean.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sean thinks over his decision to give up. Did he make the right choice? He knows he did. He saved his brother. Saved him from danger, from police, from a life he didn’t want. And he would do it again, over and over, if he had to.

The driver of Sean’s car briefs him on all the procedures and what’s going to happen to him. He will be taken to a county jail(not the one he and Daniel destroyed), to await trial, and once his trial is over he will be taken to a juvenile detention facility until he is eighteen. The driver asks if he has any questions. He asks only one, “When will I get to see Daniel again?”

The response, a solemn, “I don’t know.”

Sean stares at the world around him, trying to take it all in. He wants to draw, but the constantly moving scenery doesn’t allow for that. He just stares, knowing this is likely his last view of the world as a free man, at least for a long time. Or maybe that was when he stared out at the border, before he decided to give up. Either way, it doesn’t matter to him. All that matters is that Daniel is safe. That he can be a normal kid again. Or at least as normal as possible with a dead dad, a mom and brother in jail, and having been through . . . all that. 

Sean thinks back to the heist. The heist that Finn went behind his back to do. The heist where Daniel ended up with a fucking gun shot wound, all because Sean had to play the hero, and have Daniel use his power. He shouldn’t have. Finn was dumb, and although he didn’t deserve to die, Sean would much rather let him, if it meant Daniel would be unharmed. Who knows, maybe he would’ve kept his eye too.

Maybe Sean’s selflessness wasn’t such a good thing. No, _Fuck that,_ it was. At least most of the time. And he knows for sure that this time it was. _This time_ was fucking worth it. Sean doesn’t even care what happens to him in prison. At least Daniel’s safe.

Both brothers stare at the sky, thinking of one another. Sean is no longer tearing up, trying to look stronger to the officer in the squad car. Daniel is bawling. He keeps thinking of Sean, thinking of prison and how long his sentence might be. He doesn’t want to live without his brother. How can the wolf brothers be separated? It isn’t fair.

And the cars drive in different directions, Sean’s off through California, and Daniel’s up through Utah.

Who knows the next time the wolf brothers will meet . . .


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel’s drive to Oregon is a very long one, and it required Agent Flores to take over driving for the officer, just as Daniel was getting used to her. Luckily, the officer was quite tired, and so he ended up falling asleep pretty fast. Leaving Daniel alone with his thoughts.

He tried to stay calm, to stay happy, but he just _can’t._ He’s never been this sad, ever. He isn’t crying anymore, only because he doesn’t have the energy. He doesn’t have the energy to do _anything._ Yet, he refuses to fall asleep. He doesn’t trust these assholes. So he stares aimlessly out the window, thinking of absolutely nothing. 

Soon, he’ll get to see his grandparents. Cool. Like he cares. They were nice people, he enjoyed his time with them, but who fucking cares? Sean is gone. For how long, no one knows. Will he even get to see him at all in prison?

 _I better,_ he thinks. _Or I- Fuck. If I can’t see him . . ._ This thought brings a new idea to Daniel. _I can’t live without him. I have to visit him. They better let me._

Daniel looks over at the sleeping officer next to him. He looks lifeless. So does Daniel, although he’s awake. What kind of life can he have without Sean?

He’s starting to get more and more tired. He really wants to sleep. But he will not give Flores what she wants. She doesn’t say it, but Daniel knows Flores is afraid of him. Why, though? He’s 10 fucking years old. Does she know about his powers? No, that’s not possible.

His mind drifts off. Usually when this happens, he thinks about dumb shit, like superheroes and video games, but this time, he thinks about his own life. His own happiness. What if he never gets them back?

 _Fuck off,_ he tells himself. _You don’t deserve to think like that when Sean is . . . so much worse off._ He should be worrying about Sean instead.

Daniel doesn’t know much about prison other than what he’s seen on TV. Regardless, it doesn’t seem very nice. _What if Sean dies in prison? No, please don’t ever think like that again._

In any case, his mind falls asleep, even though he doesn’t. He isn’t processing anything. Flores tries to speak to him, but he doesn’t even realize. But he would have ignored her anyway.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a very long drive, and another switch of the driver, he watches as the car pulls into his grandparents driveway. He suddenly gets chills all over his body. It’s only been what, 6 or 7 months since they were here last? But so much has changed. Daniel isn’t a kid anymore. He isn’t a little wolf anymore. He may have only aged a year physically, but his mind is unfathomably older. He’s seen more in 10 years than most people see in their lifetime.

The last time they were here, he was still devastated by Mushroom’s death. And his fathers. He’s gotten much stronger since then. Is that a good thing?

Sean still had both his eyes last time. _Fuck,_ his mind goes. _Don’t think about that._ Every bone in his body still blames him for that, no matter how many times Sean told him it wasn’t his fault.

Since he was last here, so much has happened. He was shot by Merrill and the vigilantes, manipulated by Lisbeth, and he even met his mother. He isn’t just older now, he’s practically a different person. He would have thought that idea was cool a few days ago, but not now.

“Okay, this is your grandparents house, right?” The officer asks softly, careful not to wake a sleeping Agent Flores.

Daniel won’t give him the satisfaction of a response. He exits the car silently. The officer exits very quickly and asks him, slightly aggressively, “This is your grandparents house, right?”

Daniel stares at him with a crookedly angry face. He doesn’t respond.

The officer stares at him, with a face that could mean many different things. Is he confused? Is he angry? Daniel isn’t sure what to make of him, but regardless, he will not respond.

He tries to move past the officer, and instead of asking once more, instead he suggests walking Daniel to the front door.

Daniel nods, and the officer walks with him, almost nervously, to his grandparents front 

Daniel rings the doorbell as the officer watches. Within only about 30 seconds, Claire answers.

“Oh, Daniel, sweetie! We got a call from the Arizona department of, er,” Claire pauses, trying to remember. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. Thank the lord you made it safely! Come on, come in,” Claire greets Daniel enthusiastically. The officer watches as Daniel steps inside, and once Claire shuts the door, he starts to leave.

“Hey, Grandma,” Daniel greets her solemnly.

Daniel comes in to see the table set with a massive banquet. He sees chili, baked potatoes, tomato salad, among almost a dozen other dishes. _Wow, Grandma and Grandpa really prepared for me. That’s really nice._ .

Daniel sits down at the table, across from Stephen. Claire asks Daniel, in a very professional tone of voice, “What do you want to drink, sweetie?”

“Just water, I guess,” Daniel states, as he stares down at the table. “What time is it right now?” He asks.

Stephen looks at his watch on instinct. “It’s uh, a little after half seven in the morning,” He confirms. _How long were we driving?_ Daniel thinks to himself.

Claire brings him a glass of water. Stephen tries to make small talk, but he really was never any good at it. They eat in silence, except for the occasional clanging of silverware.

When Daniel is done, he just sits calmly in his seat, trying to look normal. The last time he was at this table, he was very talkative and bubbly, but today, all of that is gone. Claire is the one to speak up.

“So, do you want to talk about what happened, honey? All we were told is Sean was arrested at the border. It’s okay,” She pauses. “If you don’t,” She implores.

“No, I think . . .” He starts remembering everything at the border, and just thinking of Sean makes him want to scream. “I think I need to talk about it.”

“Would you like to talk over in the living room?” She asks.

“Okay.”

Daniel, Claire and Stephen all walk slowly to the living room. Normally Daniel would be walking a lot faster than them, and they would have made some joke about how old they are, but not today.

Stephen sits in a chair by himself, and Daniel and Claire sit on the couch together.

“So, start wherever you want,” She leaves Daniel time to think.

Soundtrack: Tachycardia by Conor Oberst

“Well,” He starts. “We, uh, after we left from here, Sean and me ended up working for a weed farm. Like, the drug.”

Claire tries to hide her surprise and disdain at this revelation, but it’s pretty obvious how shocked she is.

“And, well, there was this guy who I thought was really cool, uh, Finn. And he did all the cool stuff with me, and I liked hanging out with him, because . . . Sean wasn’t around as much, and that made me really sad. But Finn, he did something really dumb. But before he did, I did something dumb and got Sean and me fired from the farm. But, when Finn . . . well, he . . . discovered my power. You remember the power, right?”

Claire and Stephen both nod.  
“So, he found out I had it, and he wanted to use me to . . . rob the guy we worked for. But, it didn’t go well, and . . . Sean was right. He said we shouldn’t do it. But I trusted Finn, and he said we could, and Sean got mad, and so did I . . .” Daniel tries to slow down. Is this what a panic attack feels like? He doesn’t know. Claire gives Daniel a closer embrace.

“Oh, fuck . . .”

Claire gasps. “It’s . . . okay, honey, if you don’t want to talk about this,” She says.

Daniel takes a deep breath. His heart is racing. He doesn’t want to think about what happened that night. But he does.

His heart is fucking flying. His head feels numb. He wants to puke, and pass out at the same time. Tears start pouring down his face, and he doesn’t even realize.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Claire tries to comfort him.

He takes another breath, and another. “O-okay . . .”

He continues. “It . . . it didn’t go well. I ended up, oh fuck . . . fuck fuck fuck fuck . . .”

Daniel clenches his fists. His hair twitches and a few items around the Reynolds living room start floating an inch off their surfaces. He tries to calm himself. His heart feels like it’s going to cut a hole to get out of his chest. His whole body is so hot it feels like he’s burning. He doesn’t even realize the massive amount of sweat beading on his forehead until he puts his hand up there.

He breathes, over and over, tries to stay calm. He starts again.

“The guy we robbed,” He says this slowly and methodically. “He . . . got angry at Finn. And he was about to kill Finn. He had a shotgun pointed at him.”

Daniel starts bawling again. “A-and-nd I-I . . . I didn’t want him to die. So I asked Sean if it was okay to use my powers. And he said it was. So I did. But . . . he didn’t just . . . it didn’t work the way I wanted. And-”

Daniel feels an invisible force grab his throat and squeeze. He can barely get the words out.

“And that guy . . . he . . . .” Daniel takes what might be the biggest breath of his life. “He shot me. In the shoulder,” upon hearing this Claire tears up and embraces Daniel. Stephen tries to help as well, but ends up just watching them awkwardly.

“Oh, fuck,” Daniel exclaims.  
“Oh, sweetie . . . I’m so sorry, honey, but you’re okay now. You’re safe,” Claire tries to calm Daniel.

“I know, but . . . I . . . oh fuck, it just . . . it didn’t hurt that much, but . . . I was so scared. I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared before, Grandma,” Daniel confides. “I . . . thought I was gonna die, I thought Sean was, or Finn, or, or . . . “

“It’s okay now, Daniel,” Stephen says. “You made it out okay.”

“I-I know,” Daniel says. “But it was so scary,” He starts to cry again. “Can . . . I go to bed now? I know it’s early, but . . . I’m really tired.”

“Of course you can, sweetie,” Claire says. “And if you need anything, we’re right here.”

“Actually,” Daniel begins. “I know you probably have . . . things to do, but . . . can you sleep with me, Grandma? Please? I . . . I’m worried I might have a-a nightmare.”

“I . . .” Claire starts. “Of course, sweetie.”

“Thanks, Grandma,” Daniel says, as Claire leads him to her bed, tucks him in, and gets in next to him. Daniel embraces Claire, and it reminds him of the hug Sean gave him, before . . . fuck.

“Ah-jh-hhe,” Daniel crys. “I . . . already miss Sean so much. I didn’t realize how much I loved him,” Daniel’s emotions have crumbled him to ruins. “I, I-I miss him so much.”

“Oh . . . I know. It’s going to be okay, honey,” Claire comforts.

“I wish it was.”

After only about 10 minutes, Daniel is out cold. Claire kisses him on the forehead, before leaving him to sleep on his own.

Daniel dreams of a world similar to his own . . .


	3. Chapter 3

_July 5th, 2017_

Daniel feels the sweet forest air breathe across his face. He looks at Sean. He’s enjoying it too. And even though Dad isn’t with them, Daniel is having fun. Sean’s actually a lot cooler than he thought.

“Hey, Daniel, you see that one?” Sean says, pointing at another trail blaze.

“Oooooh, what does it say?” Daniel asks.

“It says we should go left,” Sean teaches him.

“Oooooh, cool!”

The brothers walk in between the trees. Sean’s been acting a little strange recently, and Daniel is just trying to figure him out. He doesn’t seem to be enjoying the trip that much.

The brothers sit down on a bench, overlooking more of the park. Daniel admires the view, and Sean says he’s a little surprised Daniel likes it so much, but Daniel’s never seen anything like this before. He looks at Sean.

He feels an arrow plunge through his eyes, and down through his heart. He hugs Sean with such intensity Sean almost falls over. It was so swift, it felt like an attack.

“Woah,” Sean says, a little taken aback.

“I love you, Sean. I miss you. I miss you so much. I love you so much,” Daniel confides.

“I know, _enano._ But we did the right thing,” Sean says. “You know that, right?”

“I . . . I guess. Maybe,” Daniel says, unsure. “But . . . what if I never see-” He doesn’t even finish his sentence before he starts breaking down.

“You will,” Sean comforts him. “I promised it would be okay, remember?”

“I . . . I remember,” Daniel says. “But . . . I wish I would’ve been nicer. I wish . . . a-h-h-hh, I wish that I would have told you how much I loved you more. I love you, Sean.”

“I know. I love you too, Daniel. It’s going to be okay,” Sean maintains.

“How . . . how long are you going to be in prison for?” Daniel requests.

“I . . . Daniel, I don’t know,” Sean discloses.

“I’m scared, Sean,” Daniel confides. “Scared of . . . living without you. Scared of . . . just . . . not being happy. Scared that you might . . . that you could . . . that you might not make it out.”

“Daniel . . . so am I. But you have to stay strong. Superwolf is . . . free now, right? He can roam the forest and prowl and have fun and-”

“But . . . Silver Runner is in a cage,” Daniel utters.

“Daniel . . . don’t think about it like that. Think about it like-”

“Daniel! Dinner’s ready if you are!”

Daniel is pulled from his dream like a cat being pulled off a scratching post. “Ah, huh?” He slurs groggily. “Oh! I’ll . . . be there soon, Grandma!” Daniel yells back.

Daniel hops out of bed, and quickly uses the bathroom, freshens himself a little, and heads downstairs to burgers sitting out on the table.

“Oh, there you are!” Claire greets him. “Are you alright, sweetie?”

Daniel looks at her like a deer in massive headlights. “I . . . uh, what?” He says, confused.

“How are you, honey?” She asks again.

Daniel stares back blankly. “I . . . I don’t want to talk about that. Please,” He says, still devastated.

“Oh, sweetie . . . it’s okay. You’re going to be fine, Daniel,” Claire tries to cheer him up.

“It’s not me that I’m the most worried about, Grandma,” Daniel says, drained of emotion. He isn’t truly sure who he’s worried about the most, though. Sean is in serious trouble, but . . . what about himself? He’s very worried about living without Sean. Ironic how he was happier running from the law, and nearly dying, than he is now, safe in his grandparents home. It doesn’t surprise him, however. Sean was the only person who kept him happy. He was such an amazing brother. Daniel wishes he was nicer to him.

Daniel sits at the table and starts to eat. “Sorry, I . . . didn’t mean to be . . . rude or anything, Grandma,” Daniel apologized. “I just . . . I’m really sad right now. Sorry.”

“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I know . . .” Claire thinks carefully about her next words. “I . . . can’t imagine what that . . . how much Sean was to you.”

“I . . . I loved him so much, Grandma,” Daniel starts crying again. “I just . . . why . . . why couldn’t we have rammed the border? Why? He . . . I know I could’ve done it. With my power. But he said it wasn’t who we were. But . . . what if . . . that was who _I_ was? I could’ve saved him. But I didn’t. I let him surrender. I . . . am I a bad brother, Grandma?”

“Oh, Daniel,” Claire gets as close to him as the distance of the table will allow. “No . . . no. Sean . . . wanted to surrender. To protect you. You were a good brother to him by letting him do that. And he was a good brother by wanting to protect you. You . . . made the right choice, Daniel.”

“I . . . I know. Thanks, Grandma. Uh . . . so, what time is it?” He says as he finishes his burger.

“Uh, one second,” Claire says as she gets up. “Stephen! Stephen! Hey, Stephen!”

Daniel hears Stephen yell back, annoyed, “WHAT!?”

“What time is it?!” Claire yells back.

Stephen yells back even more annoyed now, “There’s a clock in the kitchen, use it for Christ’s sakes!”

Claire scoffs. “Someone . . . is grumpy today,” She murmurs.

Daniel almost laughs. Almost. Daniel notices the time on the clock. 5:00 PM.

“Oh, okay, I . . . do you have anything, kinda . . . fun maybe?” Daniel asks. He remembers when he and Sean first came here, and they played the same board game every night. That was . . . fun. But Daniel knows he will not play that game without Sean. No way. Too many memories.

“Well, if you want to play that one game-”

“NO! No, I don’t. I can’t, please Grandma, I don’t want . . . to think about Sean,” Daniel wallows in his own shame and sorrow.

“Oh, you poor thing. I know . . . it must be hard to be reminded of him here, but . . . oh, I’m so sorry, honey. We can watch TV, if that’s okay,” Claire suggests.

“I . . .” Daniel considers the offer. But that might remind him of Sean too. But he has to do _something._ Yet he really doesn’t want to. He just wants to sleep. And only in his grandparents bed. He doesn’t want the memories of the other one, or especially . . . fuck . . . that room. But he can’t just sit around. “O-okay, okay,” He responds.

Grandma Claire flips through channels until Daniel decides on one he likes. It’s some type of supernatural police investigation show. They watch in silence for a while.

The show follows two officers searching for a suspect in a crime that left one of their officer friends dead. As they find clues to find the suspect, they also unravel a mystery that involves the suspect having some sort of supernatural ability to read minds. Daniel finds it pretty intriguing. Until they find the suspect.

Daniel watches as the officers smash in the suspects doors and hold him down. He tries to fight back, but the officers brutally smash his face into the floor. Claire gasps at their brutality and quickly turns the TV off. She notices Daniel cowering at the edge of the couch. Claire scoots closer to him. “It’s okay, honey. It wasn’t real. Don’t be afraid.”

“I . . . I’m not. But . . .” Daniel starts bawling. “What if . . . that guy was innocent? Like Sean? And they hurt him for no reason. What if they hurt Sean?”

“Daniel, it’s . . . it wasn’t real. The police don’t act like that in real life,” She explains.

“I . . . you promise?” Daniel asks, terrified.

“Yes, sweetie. I’m sure Sean is okay right now,” Claire reassures.

“I . . . okay. Thanks, Grandma.”

“Do you want to watch something else? I would bet some of your cartoons are on,” Claire says.

“O-Okay. That would be cool.”

They watch Hawt Dawg Man for a while. After a bit, Claire tells Daniel she is going to bed, and asks if he would like to come with her. He tells her he’ll be okay.

He watches for another four hours, until the adult shows come on. He decides to go to bed.

He heads up the stairs and right to his grandparents room. The door is locked. _Fuck,_ he thinks as sweat starts beading on his forehead. He looks over at the room he and Sean used to stay in. _No, no, no._ His heart starts jumping out of his chest. He will _not_ sleep in there. No way. He runs downstairs, as if just trying to run from that room.

He realizes he’ll have to sleep on the couch, unless he wants to wake his grandparents up. And he doesn’t. He’s angry at himself, he’s terrified of that room though, and he’s so confused that he’s unsure what to do. He lies down on the couch. He wants to hit himself, and the couch, and everything else. But he restrains himself. Eventually, he closes his eyes.

His life will never be the same . . .


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: First Day of My (New) Life

_July 12th, 2017_

It’s been a week since Daniel has arrived at his grandparents, and he still isn’t used to it. He doesn’t want to get used to it. Having no brother. No Sean. He’s tried to have fun with Claire and Stephen, playing their old people games, but without Sean here . . . who cares?

Claire told him a few days ago she would buy him a PlayBox, which he thought was nice, but . . . will he even be able to have fun with it? He hasn’t had fun with anything for the past week. Hasn’t even smiled. Not for real, anyway. He never truly realized how happy having Sean around made him.

Another thing Claire told him a few days ago, was that Sean had taken a plea deal, and he had gotten somewhere around 19 years behind bars. Claire tried to reassure him by saying it could go down to 15 years on good behavior, but . . . that’s still 15 fucking years. He’ll be 25 before Sean gets out. If he even does get out.

According to Claire, Sean will be put in a juvenile detention facility in California until he turns 18. Then he’ll be moved to a federal prison in Arizona. Daniel’s seen Claire talking on the phone with who he assumes are the police, for hours and hours the past few days. He’s just sat and watched. Everytime she picks up the phone, he rushes over to her to see who it is. Then he just listens, intently, with the most focus he’s ever given something. His Math teacher in Seattle would be proud.

Speaking of school, Claire told him that the state was trying to get him into the school here in Beaver Creek, which might be a good way to kill time, without thinking of Sean. Daniel hopes that Chris goes there too, he’s the only thing Daniel has been at least a little excited for. But, he still hasn’t visited him since he moved in. He’s pretty sure Claire was speaking to Chris’ father, Charles, on the phone the other day, so Daniel knows he has to visit soon.

But . . . he’s scared. Not of Chris, or Charles, but of himself. What if Chris can’t make him happy again? If that happens, he won’t know what to do. And he’s incredibly scared that Chris won’t make him happy. Chris is the one final piece of the puzzle, and if he doesn’t fit . . . Daniel may never be happy ever again. He knows he has to find out, but it scares him so much. 

A few hours away, Sean is finally being admitted to the Jolena Shore Juvenile Detention Facility, which he’s been thinking a lot about lately. He’s anxious about what life is like there. Is it dangerous? Probably, but Sean’s hoping his record will make people leave him alone. Even though he didn’t do any of it. But he had to take the deal. The attorney assigned to him said that Daniel, Claire, Stephen, and anyone else they get a hold of would have to testify against him, and he couldn’t do that to Daniel. For many reasons. He didn’t want Daniel to see him being convicted, or to feel guilty that he helped in that conviction. But, more than that, he didn’t want Daniel to reveal his powers. And he knew that Daniel would, if he had the chance. 

And if that happened, Sean could never forgive himself. Daniel would end up in a government lab somewhere, and his life would be . . . so fucked up. It already was, and Sean couldn’t fuck it up even more. His freedom was very important to him, but Daniel was more important _than_ him. He knew that from the second he ran from the sirens in Seattle. He couldn’t let Daniel see their father like that, and more importantly, he absolutely NOT let Daniel end up in foster care. Fuck that. Just the thought of it makes him sick. 

But, in the middle of this thought about Daniel’s home, he realized what he should have done. He should have left Daniel with Claire and Stephen in Beaver Creek. He was stupid, he wanted them to always stay together, but . . . it was him the cops were after. It always was. He was selfish, he wanted his brother so badly, that he put him in even more danger. 

If he had left Daniel in Beaver Creek, the heist would never have happened, and . . . fuck . . . Daniel would never have been shot by Merrill. He never would have been manipulated by Lisbeth. Even Sean himself would have been better off. He never would have been beaten within an inch of his life by that asshole in Haven Point.

And at the border, he could’ve just . . . found another spot. He knew that a lot of the border was open territory, so he could’ve just . . . left. He would’ve made it to Puerto Lobos and Daniel would be safe in Beaver Creek. He knew they didn’t have enough evidence to prove he killed the officer, so . . . what then? He only would be wanted for hurting Brett. And eventually . . . everyone would forget about Sean Diaz, and he could’ve . . . come back. And live with Daniel again. 

But he had to be selfish. Yeah, Daniel needed him, but . . . Claire and Stephen could have helped him forget about Sean. It was his fault, and he now knew that. He loved Daniel so much that . . . he actually ruined his life. _He_ fucked all this up. It was his fault, and now he- and Daniel, had to pay the price. If only he could-

“Stay still!” The examiner yells, interrupting his train of thought. _Shit,_ he thought. He completely forgot where he was right now. In front of a fucking x-ray scanner, stark fucking naked. _Whatever dickhead, like I have two kilos of cocaine up my fucking asshole. Or whatever you think I’ve got._

In this moment of vulnerability, he has a revelation. This is his life now, for at least another 15 years. Maybe more. No privacy, being yelled at, and scared. Fuck.

The examiner takes a few more shots, and moves him onto the next room, where he gets dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit. Another officer leads him into a separate area with two officers inside, one sitting at a table, the other leaning up against the wall. He sits down at the table, facing one of them.

“So, as you probably know, your brother Daniel is safe with your grandparents, and he can visit you sometime soon, okay?” The officer explains.

“How soon?” Sean asks quickly.

“Well, I was just about to ask. Today . . . is the 12th of July, and he can visit once a month. Along with your grandparents. But he won’t be able to visit in July until we get all the paperwork sorted out. So . . . the soonest he could visit would be around mid-August, and we thought . . . since your birthday is the 15th, that might be a good time,” The officer says.

“Okay,” Sean says solemnly. He was hoping for sooner, but seeing Daniel on his birthday would be the greatest gift imaginable.

“Also, you get 10 minutes on the phone every day. You can call anyone you choose, but when you hang up, the phone won’t be available again until the next day. So, you can call anyone, but keep in mind, only family can visit. Your brother, your grandparents, and your mother. All understood?” The officer asks.

“Yeah, I think,” Sean says, as he realizes that now . . . he has to be admitted into the facility for the first time. It’s like the first day at school, except a bad first impression isn’t just embarrassing, it can get you killed. 

“Okay, you ready?” The officer asks.

“I . . . no. But, I might as well just get it over with,” Sean remarks.

The officer leads Sean through multiple doors and hallways and finally, into a sprawling expanse of grey. Grey walls. Grey floor. Grey cells. Grey . . . life.

The officer tells him he belongs in Cell 5A, and swiftly exits, leaving Sean to figure out his new home. He sees a few congregations against some of the walls, and at some of the tables. People he doesn’t fit in with. People who actually deserve to be in here. Well, probably.

He feels his spine sink down through the rest of his body. This . . . is his life now. He doesn’t know where to start. Should he go introduce himself to everyone else? No. Too risky. He doesn’t want to but into someone else’s conversation and gets kicked the shit out of. He’s dealt with too much of that shit lately. So has Daniel.

He gets up close to check the numbers on the cell, careful to make it not look like he’s watching anyone specifically. After a while he finally finds Cell 5A and realizes what his living situation is now. A bunk bed, a toilet, and a sink. That’s all he gets. He knows someone else shares this cell, and while he would like to figure out who, he doesn’t really want to go around asking people which cell they have. So, he just sits on one of the bunks and decides to wait it out. It’s decently late already, he saw the sky darkening on the way into the facility. But he doesn’t want to sleep in someone else’s bed, so he just waits. 

Eventually, he sees a light skinned, short, scarred across the face teenager come his way.

“Hey, man,” Sean calls out to him.

“Who the fuck are you,” The teenager says with a high pitched, raspy voice.

“Uh, I’m your new cellmate . . . uh, nice to meet you, man. I’m Sean,” He introduces himself.

“Wait, are you Sean Diaz?”

“Uh . . . yeah, I am.”

“Damn! I remember hearing about you on the news. You killed that cop!?” The guy asks.

“Uh. I . . . no, I didn’t. It’s all bullshit. They convicted me- or, well, I . . . took a deal to . . . I . . . I’m kinda tired, you know? I can explain everything tomorrow, if that’s cool,” Sean suggests.

“Uh . . . alright, cool. I’m uh, Andy. Or . . . Anders. But don’t call me that. I . . . I uh . . . you know what, I’ll save this for tomorrow, ight?” Andy says.

“Uh . . . okay. Which bunk is yours?” Sean asks.

“The top one.”

“Okay.”

Sean barely sleeps, scared of what this new home, and new life will bring to him . . .


	5. Chapter 5

_July 13th, 2017_

Soundtrack: Golden Parachutes by Desaparecidos

Sean woke up before Andy did, and because of his lack of knowledge of the place, he decided to just wait for him. Hopefully Andy can teach him how to get by here, or introduce him to someone who can, at least. 

Unfortunately for Sean, it seems Andy sleeps pretty fucking late. Sean waits for what must be at least an hour or two, for Andy to finally wake up.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Sean greets him.

“Oh . . . hey, man,” Andy replies with a prominent lack of focus.

“I, uh . . . I was thinking, um . . . maybe you could show me around? I don’t really know much about this place, or uh . . . anything,” Sean proposes.

“Uh, sure . . . but I’ve gotta take a shower first. You should too,” Andy suggests.

“Yeah, uh . . . okay. Can you show me where it is?” Sean asks

“Of course. Just follow me.”

Sean follows Andy out of his cell, trying not to look around, or attract attention to himself. Andy brings him past multiple rows of cells to one that looks a little different, a little bigger from the others. They enter the large cell.

Andy shows him the shower facilities, and what they have to work with. Then he gets in.

“What are you doing?” Andy asks Sean.

“Uh . . . just waiting for you to, uh . . . be done,” Sean explains.

“Are you stupid? I’m not jerking off, man, the shower is open, okay?” Andy tells him.

Sean removes his jumpsuit and his shoes, and proceeds to enter, but then Andy yells at him again.

“Are you fucking dumb?” He asks.

“What?”

“You took your shoes off. You want crusty shit all over your feet?”

“Oh, uh . . . no,” Sean says, while putting his shoes back on.

He gets in. Weird to shower while someone else is right there. At his home in Seattle, the shower was the one place he could be free. Could be safe from the bullshit. Of life. Of other people.

“Hey, man . . . uh, don’t worry about those, uh . . . rumors you hear all the time. No one actually gets raped in a prison shower. While, unless you’re gay. You aren’t, right?” Andy asks.

“Uh . . . no,” Sean says, which is technically the truth. He likes girls too. But he remembers how he felt about Finn at the pot farm, and that was more than just a friendly relationship for sure. He feels sick that he thought that way about Finn at the time. Finn . . . really fucked up. Yeah, he didn’t mean it, but he got Daniel _hurt,_ and Sean will never forgive him for that. If Daniel would’ve died . . . fuck, he doesn’t even want to think about it. But he knows what he would have done to Finn had that happened.

Andy explains some more about “Shower Etiquette” and how being clean is considered one of the most important things to be in prison. Andy says it’s apparently incredibly dangerous to smell bad in prison, and that, “The people who smell bad are used as punching bags and no one gives a shit - not even the guards.”

After they’re done, Andy shows Sean around the facility, explaining where the commissary store, the lunch section, as well as a few cells which Andy says, “The guards never assign anyone to” so the inmates use them for deals and such.

Sean wishes he had his sketchbook now, to write all this shit down. Or flash cards. But instead, he just has to remember it all. And unlike school, forgetting doesn’t mean you fail the test, it can get you beat the fuck up.

Andy points out a few notable inmates and explains who they are and a few details about them. Sean tries his best to remember it all. 

There’s Hank, a big guy who Sean thought at first was too old to be a juvenile facility, but apparently he’s only 17. Andy says he doesn’t like other people and starts fights a lot. No one really hangs out with him, and he isn’t a part of any groups, as Andy says. Sean assumes he means gangs. Hank is also supposedly really, really dumb according to Andy, and likes to find out how to piss people off easily. Sean decides he isn’t going to try and make friends with him.

Then there’s Jordan, who is the “dealer type” of the facility, and Andy says his friends bring in all kinds of shit every month. Andy tells Sean that he’s “pretty sure” the guards know about it, but don’t really care. Apparently he’s a pretty cool guy though, and since he’s so thin and lanky he doesn’t start fights often. So that’s nice.

Then there’s Rusty(who the fuck names their kid Rusty?), who is the guy Andy says you should go to if you want work. He’s in good standing with the guards, and supposedly he oversees tons of projects around the prison, which pay well. Or at least well for a prison, that is. Andy says he’s just trying to help out and is generally really, really nice. Everyone likes him, even Hank. “So,” Andy says. “Do _not_ fuck him over, or literally everyone will want your ass. Including me.”

Then there’s Bart, who seems to Sean like he’s some kind of gang-leader type, he’s big and intimidating, and Andy says he’s good friends with a lot of people apparently. But not in the same way that Rusty is. Andy says about him, “Do not fucking ever borrow shit from him. Ever. You probably shouldn’t borrow anything from anyone, to be honest. Unless it’s deodorant or some shit, then always fucking borrow it.” Supposedly Bart’s posse _really_ stands up for him.

Andy points out a few other big “leaders” around the facility, and says again to not get in their shit. Then he gives some other miscellaneous advice:

“Ok, so . . . I would recommend not getting involved in anyone’s shit. Don’t ask for favors. If someone else asks you for a favor, _do it._ Unless it’s something that lets them walk all over you, then don’t. Otherwise you’ll become everyone’s favorite errand boy to punch around. Don’t try to fit in with any of the gangs around unless you have to. Try not to take sides. Unless Rusty’s in an argument with someone, then take his side. Don’t be a dumbass, or an asshole. Anyway, those guys are the most important to know about. Everyone else is just doing their time normally. Most people will respect you, if you respect them, okay? Oh, and don’t talk about people behind their backs, or rat on them. Those are the two best ways to lose your other eye, ight?” Andy explains.

“Uh . . . okay, I think I got it,” Sean says.

“Okay, follow me. I’ll show you the outside area,” Andy tells him.

They head outside where Sean sees a decently sized courtyard, with about half a dozen weight racks, and a basketball court. Andy says this is where most of the other inmates spend a lot of their time. What else is there to do here? 

Sean asks that question to Andy. It isn’t that he doesn’t like lifting weights, more so that he doesn’t want to piss anyone off by “stealing their rack”.

“Well . . . if you haven't seen it already, there’s a TV inside. It doesn’t really have much on it though, just news and NFL games during the rest of the year,” Andy explains.

“What?”

“Yeah they show all the teams here. Or the ones in California at least. I’m not the biggest fan, but some of the guys are super into it. None of the teams do anything special though. Well, I guess the Raiders were cool last year. Lots of people here are fans of them. Just don’t be around some of the more asshole-y guys when their team loses. Anyway, you need to go and introduce yourself to everyone. People’ been eyeing you since you arrived,” Andy says, as they sit down at one of the tables.

“Okay . . . do I just go up to people? Like . . . I don’t know, dude,” Sean responds.

“Here, let me help you,” Andy offers.

“Uh . . . okay.”

Andy starts yelling at the top of his lungs, “It’s Sean Diaz! Everyone, come here quick! Sean Diaz is here!”

Sean doesn’t know how to respond, and he hopes people won’t be pissed that Andy yelled out so loud. But, people start coming over. First one, then another, and eventually a good dozen people arrive at the table. Soon enough, there isn’t any room left, and some of them have to stand.

A lot of them start talking at once. Some of them ask if he’s really “THE Sean Diaz,” some of them ask if he really killed the cop and how he threw the car over, and if this really happened, and whether he actually did this, and that, and was he really at this place, and- and, and all this shit, and he’s just trying to keep up . . .

Then Andy yells out again, “Okay! He’s not gonna be able to answer fifteen fucking questions at once, god damn! Let him explain.” The group calms down.

Sean thinks over what he wants to say. Should he tell the truth? Should he try to sound stronger than he really is? Well, he knows he can’t tell the whole truth. He can’t reveal Daniel’s power. And so he explains his story, slowly and carefully:

“Well, I . . . no, I didn’t kill the cop. I don’t know what happened. My fucking neighbor was being a shithead to my little brother, and I just . . . wanted to protect him. I got in a fight, and I . . . knocked him out, and then the cop showed up. And then . . . fuck, then my dad came out to see what happened. And . . . then he shot him,” Sean tries to prevent himself from crying, but it’s hard. “And I passed out, and so did my brother. I don’t know what happened to the cop, but . . . I knew we would be blamed for it, so . . . I . . . took Daniel- my brother, and got my backpack, and I fucking ran. We were on the road for a while, and . . . well, a lot of shit happened to us, but . . . “

Andy enters the conversation. “Dude, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, alright. But the gist of all that shit, is that . . . we were trying to get to Mexico. To a plot of land our . . . father owned called _Puerto Lobos._ And we were close. We made it to the border, but cops were fucking everywhere, and . . . I couldn’t put Daniel through more shit. So . . . I gave up. To give Daniel a better life. I knew he wouldn’t be happy in Mexico,” Sean says.

One of the others asks him, “How old was Daniel?”

“10. He was 10. I couldn’t make him go through more. He . . . just wanted to be a kid again, and if we went to Mexico, he could never be a kid again. And that’s if we even made it, and the cops didn’t shoot us down at the border. I knew it, he knew it. We . . . shit . . . we couldn’t have done it,” Sean explains, then he looks at Andy. “Do you . . . know where the phone is?”

“Yeah, man . . . I’ll show you. Come here, follow me,” Andy implores.

They both leave their seats. Andy walks Sean over to a room with phones on the wall. Andy explains, “All you gotta do is press the button to call for a person to come. Then just tell them what numbers you want to call. You get only 10 minutes every day, though.”

“Okay, thanks,” Sean says, as he enters the room. He walks up to the desk, where each side is separated by strong, clear glass. He pushes a small button hanging off the wall, and waits.

After a few minutes, a blonde-haired woman with expensive looking glasses arrives at the desk.

“Oh, you must be the newest inmate here, right? Sean Diaz?” She asks.

“Uh . . . yeah, I am,” Sean confirms.

“Uh . . . okay, Mr. Diaz, so you will have to write down any numbers you want to call on this paper here,” She says as she hands him a form through a tiny slit in the bottom of the glass. “And once we verify them, you can call them whenever you want.”

“Uh . . . okay.” Sean writes down his grandparents number as well as Lyla’s old number, praying that she didn’t change it. He tries to remember the number Cassidy gave him, but he can’t. So after a little more thought, he gives up and slides it back to her. She looks over the paper.

“Alright, your grandparents number is already in our system, but this “Lyla” will have to be verified. You can call your grandparents now, if you want.”

“Uh . . . yeah, I do.”

“Okay, so . . .” She fiddles with the computer in front of her, and Sean hears a distinctive ‘click’ from behind him. “Alright, phone number 5 has the number already imputed into it. Don’t change the number or the phone will be deactivated, and your daily minutes will be used up,” She warns.

“O-okay,” Sean picks up the phone, looks at the number, and hits the call button. He listens to it ring twice, and becomes incredibly worried that Claire might just ignore it. Luckily, just as the phone starts it’s third ring, it goes through.

“Hello? Who is this?” It’s Claire’s voice.

“Claire! It’s . . . it’s me, Sean!”

“Sean? Oh, sweetie, you . . . would you like to speak to Daniel? He’ll be so hap-”

“Yes, Claire.”

Sean hears Claire move the phone away from her ear, and call for Daniel. Soon after, he hears Daniel ask who it was, and Claire simply says that it’s for him. He hears Daniel take the phone.

Soundtrack: Saturday As Usual by Bright Eyes

“Hello?” Daniel says softly, trying not to get his hopes up, but still getting them up.

Sean breaks down just hearing Daniel’s voice. “Hey, _enano,_ ” Sean can’t contain his emotions, and his _enano_ sounds more like a cry for help then a brotherly nickname.

“Sean!? Oh, Sean, I . . . I’m so sorry, I just, I, I can’t believe it,” Daniel says, wanting to say many things at once yet unable to say any of them, and Sean can tell Daniel has tears pouring out of his eyes as he continues with, “Sean, I love you.”

“I . . . I love you too, _enano,_ and I know this is hard, but . . . we have to be strong, okay? I-”

“I miss you,” Daniel interrupts, with such pain in his voice that it cuts through Sean like a falling dagger. “I . . . miss you so much it hurts, Sean.”

“I . . . I know. Me too. But, I’m still here, and I’m still your brother, right? That’s what matters.”

“Of course you’re my brother, Sean. I . . .” Daniel pauses for a very, very long time, before simply responding, “I love you. I . . . I love you so much, and I miss you, I . . . a-hh-hh-hh-ehh.”

“Oh, h-hh-hh, I . . . love you too, _enano._ Don’t cry,” Just saying this makes Sean start to cry himself. “It’s going to be okay,” It’s so hard for Sean to be strong. How can he convince Daniel that it’ll be okay when he can’t even convince himself of it. Fuck.

“I . . . I don’t know, Sean. I . . . thank you, but . . . I . . . I know we did the right-” Daniel chokes up. “I know it was the right thing. We aren’t criminals, I . . . I know that. But . . . oh . . . I miss you so much. I love you,” The way Daniel speaks just . . . murders Sean’s heart. Like he has a billion little cuts all over his body, and another billion just on his heart. 

“Daniel . . . I, woah . . . I love you too, okay? I really, really, _really_ love you. Never let anything stop you from being who you are, okay? Never. You’re . . . amazing. You’re the best brother I could’ve ever asked for, okay?”

“I . . . thanks, Sean. I love you-” Daniel stops again to catch himself. “I really love you too. You . . . are such a great brother too, Sean, okay? Don’t . . . think you aren’t. Because you are. You . . . gave up so much just to protect me, that’s . . . really, really amazing, Sean. But I don’t deserve it.”

This hits Sean like being pushed hard into a massive brick wall. “Da-I . . . don’t ever say that again, okay? Just . . . if you ever think you aren’t worth it, just remember that you _are,_ okay? I’m not such a perfect brother, okay? If I was . . .” The realization slams into Sean like a .50 caliber motherfucking bullet. “If I was a perfect brother,” He speaks slowly, and carefully, as if performing surgery on himself. “If I was . . . dad would still be here. We would’ve played zombie in- oh, _fuck,_ I would’ve played it with you. This whole thing . . . was my fault, okay? My fuck-up.”

Daniel starts bawling at this. “NO! No, no Sean, that wasn’t . . . it wasn’t you,” Daniel wants to mention the fake blood accident but he realizes something: Sean is right. The event that really, truly kicked all this shit off, was Sean . . . being mean to him. But that doesn’t make it his fault. “Y-you couldn’t have known, it wasn’t your fault, or mine, but . . . it just happened, okay? And actually, no . . . maybe-kk,” Daniel despair makes it sound as if he is about to throw up. “Maybe . . . it was me. You never would’ve thrown me out of your room, if . . . if I had been a better brother, and-”

“Don’t,” Sean starts, sounding almost angry. “Don’t even fucking say that. You were NOT a bad brother, ever, Daniel. Don’t think like that, okay? I’m your brother, so I’m the only one who can decide if . . . if you are a good brother or not. And I know . . . you’re an amazing brother, _enano._ I would never have chosen anyone else. Ever.”

Both brothers have taken down every wall they’ve had the past week.

“I . . . thank you, Sean. You’re an amazing brother too, Sean. I know. I’m your brother, so you can’t argue, okay? I wouldn’t take anyone else either. You were the best brother ever to me. Even if I didn’t deserve you.”

“Daniel, don’t . . . say that. If anything, I didn’t deserve you- I mean . . . you . . . Daniel, if I am really the best brother ever, then . . . I love my brother, and would never trade him. Ever. Only a bad brother would trade his brother for someone else. And . . . I would _never_ trade you, okay? Ever.”

“I . . . oh . . . ahhh-ahh-h-h-hh, I l-love you. I wouldn’t ever trade you either, Sean. I love you so much, I-I really do.”

“I love you too, Daniel. I will never stop loving you. Ever.”

“Me either.”

Sean looks at the clock and realizes it’s time to say goodbye. His 10 minutes are nearly over.

“Okay,” Sean says, taking a deep breath. “I . . . I’m really sorry, but . . . I only get 10 minutes each day on the phone. I have to go. I love you, Daniel.”

“NO! No, please . . . please don’t go, Sean. I . . . I can’t be happy without you. Please, I love you so much, please don’t go.”

“I . . . I’m so sorry Daniel, but the phone will kick me off soon. I love you.”

“I love you too . . . DON’T . . . please don’t go . . .”

Sean hears a click. He puts the phone back on the wall, and stares at his feet. God, he loves Daniel so much.

A few hours away, Daniel lies down on the floor and cries. He loves Sean more than anything.

_And me, I’m in the bathroom_

_Crying out my eyelids_

_Because it’s hard to be a man when you’re scared_

_Just like a little kid_

_The world’s become . . ._

_A little too mean . . ._


	6. Chapter 6

Soundtrack: If Winter Ends by Bright Eyes

_July 13th, 2017_

That call, just . . . it was everything Daniel needed, yet . . . also, fucking destroyed him. He doesn’t get to live a normal life anymore, and that really scares him. He . . . misses Sean, more than he’s ever missed anything, and he just wants his brother back. Now. Right now.

So he just lies there. Why get up- why do anything, anymore? It won’t help Sean. It’ll only help him, just like surrendering at the border did. He’s so . . . selfish. So fucking selfish. He let his brother ruin his own life just to protect him. He doesn’t deserve it. No matter what Sean said, he knows he doesn’t.

And for now, he’s got even more to worry about. Technically, his grandparents don’t truly have custody of him yet. The papers have to all be filled out, and if the government finds something wrong with them . . . he’ll be put into foster care. And if that happens . . . he doesn’t even want to think about what he would do.

But who cares anyway. Sure, foster care would be shitty, but . . . Sean’s dealing with so much more. He’s just selfish to even worry about that. Sean could _die._ Worst case for him, shitty parents, and who gives a shit about him anyway?

_I bet Sean doesn’t even like me anymore,_ he thinks. _I . . . ruined his life._

And he doesn’t even know how to think through any of this. Thoughts flow through his head freely, one after another, without enough time for him to process any of them. Except that one. That one lingers a little longer than the others. He doesn’t want to think about it, but he can’t stop. What if . . . Sean hates him now?

He can’t take it. Thinking this shit.

He gets up to his knees, and bashes his hands into the floor, over and over, and it hurts, but he doesn’t care. He keeps it on, over and over, scraping his hands and bawling in the process. Claire hears the loud commotion from the living room, and runs to him quickly, yelling out,

“What in the lord’s name do you think you’re doing?”

He doesn’t even know how to respond to this, and he doesn’t want to burden Claire by worrying about him. He looks at her, his hands and body worn down. He stands up.

Fuck all this. How can he live a real, fulfilling life without Sean? He’s desperate for anything to make him happy. Anyone to love him, truly, love him, like Sean did. He doesn’t want to do anything other than just . . . think of Sean. And cry, and just . . . why would he want to do anything, _anything_ without Sean? He hates his life without his brother. His body and life feel like a crushed soda can left in a dirty alleyway. Worthless. Discarded. Used up.

“Are you okay, Daniel?” Claire asks, caring, yet confused.

“I . . .” Daniel wraps his arms around his grandmother. “I’m sorry. I just . . . really miss Sean.”

“Oh, you poor thing . . . I-I know it’s hard to be without him. I . . . I know this week has been . . . very hard for you. But, you’re safe here. You’re okay.”

“I-I know that. But I . . . Grandma, I . . . I miss Sean just . . . so much.”

Even saying _that_ is an understatement. There isn’t strong enough words to describe how much he misses Sean. How sad he is. Why would he . . . why is he allowed to be happy but Sean isn’t?

“I understand, Daniel. But what would Sean say? He would want you to stay strong.”

“I know he would . . . but I can’t. I love him too much to be able to live without him. And I . . . made him go to jail. It was my fault.”

“Daniel . . . “

“Don’t . . . Grandma, I . . . whatever. I just really miss him.”

“I know . . . is there anything I can do to cheer you up? Stephen was going to get your PlayBox toy tomorrow, but . . . is there anything I can do today?”

“Well . . . maybe. Do you have anything?”

“I . . . well, I was thinking . . . maybe visiting Chris would cheer you up, and him too . . . from what we’ve heard from Charles, he really misses you.”

“Well . . . okay. That might be cool,” Daniel says as he runs to the door. Claire yells after him,

“But . . . Daniel! If his father is yelling, just come back here!”

“Okay, Grandma!” Daniel yells back, as he opens the door.

Chris has been the one person Daniel was really looking forward to seeing. When he first came to Beaver Creek, meeting Chris was the most awesome thing he had in his life at the time. Leaving him was . . . hard. But now he’s back, and it’s been over a week, and he still hasn’t seen him. He’s been too afraid of . . . everything. What if Chris doesn’t care about him anymore? What if Chris doesn’t make him happy again? He doesn’t know what he would do.

He quickly, yet carefully, makes his way across the road to Chris’ house. Weird seeing the house without the snow anymore. Looks even more run down than it did before, something Daniel didn’t even consider about it the first time around. He heads up Chris’ stairs, and knocks on the door. He hears Chris’ dad yelling for him.

 _Shit,_ Daniel thinks. _Is he just telling Chris to get the door, or is he actually mad?_

He doesn’t have to wait long for the answer. Soon enough, Chris opens the door.

“Daniel!? You came back!” Chris yells out, giddy.

“Hey, Chris,” Daniel says, trying to sound happier than he is.

Chris tells Daniel he has to ask his dad to let Daniel in, then he runs off. Daniel waits at the door, awkwardly. Eventually, Chris comes back.

“Come in! This is so awesome! I didn’t think you would come back!” Chris speaks as Daniel steps inside. “Oh, just put your shoes right there!” Chris points to a closet next to the door, that Daniel thinks he remembers.

“Follow me, I want to show you something super cool!”

“O-okay!”

Chris leads Daniel to his room, over to a black console. 

“A PlayBox!?” Daniel asks.

“Yes! Dad got it for Christmas and I was so excited! He got me a few games and stuff and it was cool!”

“That’s awesome, dude! My grandma said she was gonna get one sometime,” Daniel replies.

“Oooooh, we could play together, cool!” Chris suggests.

“Oh yeah!” Daniel says, leading to an awkward silence between them. Daniel breaks it with, “Hey, uh . . . do you still have that treehouse?”

“Oh, yeah, I do! Your grandpa actually fixed some of it a little while ago! You wanna go up there?” Chris asks.

“Okay, sounds cool!” Daniel says.

Chris runs over to the door quickly and puts his shoes on. Daniel isn’t as fast. He gets over there eventually.

Once the boys are ready, they head outside, Daniel struggling to keep up with Chris as he rushes to the treehouse. Eventually, he makes it over to Chris.

“Hey, uh, man . . . is something wrong? I . . . I saw . . . you haven’t been as . . . excited to see me, as I am to see you. We . . . we are friends, right?” Chris asks, softly.

Daniel looks at him like a puppy about to have it’s tail stepped on. “Chris . . . of course! You’re super cool. I just . . . I . . .”

“Do you want to talk about it in the treehouse? So . . . dad can’t see,” Chris suggests.

“Okay.”

The boys climb up the makeshift ladder Daniel remembers led to him saving, and meeting Chris. Which led to him revealing his power, and being invited to the Christmas market . . . which ended up getting them discovered. Why does everything he does end up getting them in trouble?

Once the boys get to the top of the treehouse, Chris asks him again,”So . . . do you want to talk about it? Dad says I’m a good listener.”

“O-okay,” Daniel starts as Chris scoots closer to him. “I . . . don’t even know where to start. Well . . . so . . . the whole reason I’m here . . . and not in Mexico, is because . . . me and Sean were . . . at the border, but . . . the police had us surrounded, and Sean . . . he knew we couldn’t make it. Even with . . . my power. You remember that, right?”

“I-I, of course I do,” Chris replies simply.

“You aren’t mad about it, right?” Daniel asks, his eyes watering.

“What? Why would I be?” Chris queries.

“Be-because I lied to you,” Daniel explains.

“Dude! You saved my life! That car was gonna hit me!” Chris says generously.

“And-and did . . . that cop get hurt?” Daniel asks sheepishly.

“Well, I checked on him, and he . . . was a little . . . confused. But no . . . he was okay,” Chris confirms gently.

“O-okay, that’s good. But . . . so . . . with my power . . . even with it, me and Sean didn’t want to hurt anybody, so . . . we gave up, and Sean went to jail,” Daniel says painfully.

‘Wait, so . . .” Chris interrupts. “I remember . . . seeing you guys on the news sometime after you left. Are you . . . criminals?” 

“NO! No, we aren’t. That’s . . .” Daniel breaks down. “It’s not who we are.”

Chris gets closer and comforts him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to . . . say it like that. It’s okay,” Chris hugs him, and Daniel hugs back.

“I know,” Daniel says. “But, I just really miss him. So much. It’s only been like a week, and I already just . . . I . . . I don’t even know how to say it. I miss him just . . . so much, Chris. He was the only person who could actually, like . . . keep me happy, when we were trying to get to Mexico.”

“I’m sorry, dude,” Chris wraps his arms tighter around his friend. “I . . . don’t even . . . know what that would be like.”

“It’s okay, Chris. Can we just . . . play and forget about this?” Daniel asks sadly, yet calm.

“You sure?” Chris asks.

“Yeah.”

A few hundred miles away, a 16 year old man is still getting used to his new predicament . . .


	7. Chapter 7

_July 14th, 2017_

Sean’s been trying his best to figure out all the inner workings of the facility, hoping he’ll get used to all this. So far he’s found out a few important things Andy failed to mention.

Lunch is at noon, it tastes like shit and there is no breakfast, then supper’s at 4:30 and it isn’t much better.

They call inmates up to a normally locked room over the speaker system for . . . some reason Sean doesn’t know yet.

The phones only open at 3 PM each day, and close at 11, the same time the place shuts down for sleeping hours. 

Sean still feels so out of place here, like he’s walked into the wrong classroom at school and just tried to play it off. He’s hardly spoken to anyone at all, yet it seems they all want to speak to him, and he’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. But he really doesn’t want to talk about it. Or at least, not with people he doesn’t know.

He’s starting exercising a little bit, and at first he was worried people would want to take the equipment from him, but so far people have been nice. It’s really the only thing he can do here, it’s so fucking boring. So he watches as his bar goes up, and down, up, and down, over and over . . .

“Hey, Pedro!”

Sean looks over his bar. It’s Hank. Or at least Sean is pretty sure it’s him. He’s big, and dumb looking, and he has some kind of tattoo on his left arm, which he’s pretty sure Hank had. Wait . . . did he just call Sean Pedro? Is he stupid enough to not know his name, or is he one of those kind of assholes?

Sean sets his bar down, and sits up. “Uh . . . name’s Sean . . . nice to meet you,” Sean says, almost questioningly, while holding out his hand.

Hank doesn’t even look at Sean’s hand, just stares him right in the face.

“Look, dude, if you want the rack, I was pretty much done already, you can have it,” Sean says nervously, as he stands up and moves away from the rack.

Hank looks at him as he moves, then at the rack, then back at him. “You know we built a wall to keep people like _you_ out,” He says.

Sean backs up. He is one of those assholes. “Dude, I’m not looking for trouble. You can take the rack if you want.”

Hank steps forward at Sean, and Sean notices that now a few people are watching them. Maybe they can help him? But then he remembers what Andy said, “Don’t get in anyone’s shit,” and he realizes no one is coming to his rescue, they only want to see how badly he gets hurt.

Hank speaks again, louder this time, “You make me sick. You’re just like all the other beaners who come here. Total fucking little pussies, who came to the country illegally, then did some illegal shit to get in here. You’re all the exact same.”

Sean wants to stand up for himself, but he knows it won’t get him anywhere. He moves backwards again, realizing he’s up against a wall when his foot hits a wooden plank leaning against the wall.

“Man, I didn’t do shit to you, okay?” Sean starts to continue, but Hank interrupts him again.

“Hey beaner, who were you on the phone with yesterday? Your boyfriend?”

“No man, my brother,” Sean speaks anxiously.

“Oh, I bet he’s a little bitch just like you,” Hank yells.

This hits Sean in such a different way than anything else. Racism is one thing. It’s stupid, it’s evil, and it’s just fucking dumb, but . . . it doesn’t mean anything to him anymore. But . . . talking about Daniel like that, it makes Sean so . . . angry. So fucking pissed.

Sean leans down to grab the plank he brushed against earlier, with the intent to hit Hank with it, but a realization, and a vision, both enter his mind.

The realization that if he hurt someone, he would likely end up in solitary. 

And the vision of caving Hank’s face in, and watching him bleed through fifteen different scars.

When they first appeared, the realization didn’t bother him, and the vision excited him. But when factoring in Daniel, and his happiness, he thinks more clearly.

A new realization that he may not be able to call Daniel from solitary, and that . . . would ruin him.

A new vision of Daniel saying what he said at the border, “It’s not who we are.” They aren’t criminals, and Sean will not honor this asshole’s comments with violence.

Sean throws the plank vaguely in Hank’s direction, and runs. Runs back inside the complex, and sits at a table right next to one of the guards. Then he watches as Hank comes in, and starts yelling again. Luckily, the guards presence inside the facility seems to stop Hank from taking it any further, and he swiftly turns back around, and heads outside.

It would have been so satisfying to knock that asshole off his feet, but Sean knows he made the right decision. If he would’ve attacked Hank, the guards would have taken them both away into solitary confinement, which, from what Andy has offhandedly mentioned about it, Sean knows it would not be nice. Boring, unstimulating, and worst of all, is that they limit phone calls. 

Normally, you get a call every day, but in solitary, Andy told Sean, “You’d be lucky to get one a week.” And he _can’t_ do that to Daniel. Never. No matter how much someone pisses him off, he can not warrant it with self-defense. Ever. Just the thought of Daniel waiting all day for a call and never receiving one is devastating to Sean. All he cares about is Daniel’s happiness. That’s why he surrendered. And that’s why he’ll continue to put Daniel above himself. It’s the only way to stay sane.

But at this point, it’s almost 3 o’clock so Sean lines up at the phone room behind two darker-skinned others that look about the same age as him. He’s pretty sure he’s never met them. They strike up a conversation with him that makes him feel kind of awkward and out of place.

“Oh, hey man, I uh . . . I saw how Hank was bothering you earlier,” One of them says.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, uh . . . he’s kind of a dick sometimes.”

“Yeah, he kinda, uh . . . seems like it. Um, I’m Sean . . . Sean Diaz,” He holds out his hand hesitantly, as if worried the guy might try to twist it. But instead, he just holds out his own.

“Oh, cool. You’re the uh . . . guy on the news, right?” He asks.

“Yeah, that guy who uh . . . did all that stuff? Yeah, that was, uh . . . me,” Sean confirms.

“Oh, wow,” The guy stares in silence for a few seconds. “Cool, uh . . . anyway, I’m Jack, and this is my brother, Apollo,” He says while pointing at the other guy. “Are you . . . waiting to see your brother? I remember hearing about you guys on the news.”

Sean knew his face was plastered all over the media, but how is it that basically everyone here knows who he is? And Daniel? Is it so unbelievably boring here that everyone keeps insanely up to date with the news?

“Uh, yeah . . . I . . . I’m gonna make sure to call him every day,” Sean says, as if promising to himself.

“You love him?” Apollo asks.

“Of course. He . . . was the only one that kept me going. To be honest, he still is,” Sean says naturally. “Who are you guys calling? You . . . don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”

“Our sister,” Apollo says. “She stood with us all the way through our trial.”

“Oh, that’s . . . nice,” Sean says.

He can’t wait to speak to Daniel again. Hopefully he’s doing okay. Sean hates that he can’t be there with him. If Daniel’s teenage years are gonna be anything like his own, he’ll need serious support. Support that Sean can’t provide.

He hears the door make a clicking sound. It must be 3 o’clock. He follows the brothers Jack and Apollo inside, and after they’re done talking to the lady at the desk, he heads up himself.

“Oh, Sean Diaz, right?’ She asks.

“Uh, yeah . . .” Sean trails off.

“Okay, so we are still checking that “Lyla” number that you gave us yesterday, but if you want to call your grandparents again, then you can do that.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“You want to call your grandparents?”

“Yes.”

Sean watches as the woman messes with something on her computer for a second, then hears the same clicking sound he heard yesterday.

“Alright, it's phone number 2. You get 10 minutes. Don’t change the number or your 10 minutes will be used automatically.”

“O-okay, thank you.”

Sean heads into booth number 2, checks to make sure the number is correct, and presses the call button. This time, it rings only once before someone picks it up.

Soundtrack: No One Changes by Conor Oberst

“Sean? Is that you?” It’s Daniel.

Hearing his voice once again is just so fucking much for Sean to handle. Why can’t he be there with Daniel? He just . . . wants to make him feel okay. How can he do that over a fucking phone line?

“Hey, _enano,_ ” Sean says, his voice shaky and uncontrollable. “How are you?”

“Sean . . . I’m . . . I’m okay,” Daniel doesn’t even know what to say, and he doesn’t want Sean to worry about him. Sean has so many more important things to worry about.

“Daniel, I know you better than that. It’s okay to talk about how you're feeling. It’s okay to be sad, or confused, or . . . whatever, okay? Please just talk to me.”

“No, Sean, really . . . I just . . . I don’t want to make you worried.”

“Daniel . . . you’re making me worried right now, dude. You know I love you, okay? I . . . talking to you is the best part of my day here, Daniel. So I want to . . . help you. Make sure that you really are . . . you know, okay. So just tell me everything, okay? Everything good, everything bad, everything in-between, okay?”

“O-okay . . . well, Grandma and Grandpa are nice.”

“They’re taking good care of you?”

“Yeah. They even got me a PlayBox, which is . . . really cool.”

“You . . . don’t sound that excited. Is everything okay?”

“I . . . no. I miss you. So much, Sean. And . . . I’m scared. Really, really scared that without you . . . I can’t be happy.”

Fuck. Daniel’s happiness is the only thing that matters right now. If he isn’t happy . . . fuck, this sucks. Everything is so fucking hopeless. Both of their lives are fucked. Sean . . . did all this to fix Daniel’s life, and all he did was ruin it even more. He can’t go back, he can’t change it anymore. And the dread he feels now is killing him. It’s like when he used to have to go back to school after the summer, but this . . . you don’t come home everyday. You don’t get days off. You get 15 years of that same dread, over and over, slowly destroying each and every fiber of happiness you could hope to achieve. And if that same feeling is ruining Daniel . . . Sean can’t bear to think about it.

How can he comfort Daniel when he can’t comfort himself? How can he tell him it’ll be okay when he doesn’t believe that himself? And he promised Daniel at the border that it would be okay. But . . . it won’t.

How do you respond to that truthfully without making him feel worse?

“I . . . I know. This just sucks. I wish I could be there right now. I’m so sorry, Daniel,” Fuck. That’s so unconvincing.

“I . . . I want a hug,” Sean can hear Daniel break down on the other side of the phone, even though he’s trying to hide it.

“Oh . . .” That hit him so fucking hard. “I wish I could give you a hug right now, _enano._ You deserve it.

Fuck. Sean wishes he could be there for Daniel. This shit, it’s horrible. Sean would do fucking anything to be there for Daniel. It’s the worst feeling ever, to be away from him. And Daniel just . . . isn’t happy right now. And Sean can’t be happy if Daniel isn’t.

“Sean, can I ask you something?”

“Whatever you want, _enano._ ”

“Do you love me?”

 _Shit. Does Daniel think that I . . . don’t love him? Why would he ask that?_ It’s truly terrifying to be asked that question.

“Daniel, of course I do. You’re amazing, okay? You’re awesome, man. I . . . care about you so much, and I hate to be away from you like this. But . . . I hope that we can get through this, okay? But don’t ever think I don’t love you. Ever.”

“But . . .” His voice quivers. “How could you forgive me for all the, the _shit_ I did? I was such a jerk to you. And if it wasn’t for me . . . you would still have both eyes. I . . . was so _stupid,_ and such a bad brother all the time,” Sean can tell Daniel has tears flooding out of his eyes.

How does he respond to that? His brother . . . fuck . . . his brother hates himself. _Fuck._

“No, no, Daniel . . . I . . . it wasn’t your fault. None of that shit. You weren’t being a jerk, okay? You just wanted to spend more time with me. How could I ever think you were a bad brother? Everything you did was . . . because you loved me. If that’s being a bad brother, then everyone is one, okay? You didn’t make me lose my eye, okay? It was an accident. And a lot worse would’ve happened if you didn’t . . . do that. Daniel . . . I don’t care about the flaws you think you have. I will always love you. That will never change. You are as perfect as a brother can be.”

“But I . . . I let you get beat up by that guy in Haven Point. I didn’t even do anything. You could’ve died, and I just . . . stood there. I know I’m selfish. And I-”

“Daniel, it wasn’t your fault. Lisbeth, she . . . she manipulated you. She was dangerous, not you. Plus, you saved me in the end. You showed her that being a good brother was more important to you than she was. It doesn’t matter that I got hurt. How could I not forgive you for that?”

“I . . . thanks, Sean. I just . . . it’s something I’ve thought about a lot. And I know you forgive me, but . . . I can’t forgive myself. My . . . brain won’t let me. And I’m . . . really scared about it. I keep getting these thoughts all the time, telling me I was selfish, or a bad brother, or, or-”

“Daniel . . . what do you mean? How often do you get them?

“Like, a lot. They won’t shut up. And I don’t like them, but . . . most of the time, they’re right.”

Fuck. This is serious shit. “No, they aren’t. It’s not something you should let happen. I think . . .” Sean pauses for a moment. “Daniel, I think . . . you should ask Claire and Stephen . . . if they can get you a therapist. I think you need someone to talk to, and I . . . I’m not that person.”

“I don’t know, Sean. I don’t really want anyone to know how I feel, except you.”

“Daniel, please . . . do this for me. I’m scared for you. I . . . those kinds of things, they aren’t healthy. And I’m worried about you. Please.”

“Are . . . you sure?”

“Yes. They will make you feel better. Trust me, it will be worth it. They might not make you happy, but they’ll help you learn to live on your own. Without me.”

“Sean, I don’t wanna live without you.”

“Daniel, I’m so sorry. I know it’s tough, but you’re the strongest person I’ve ever known,” Sean takes a deep breath. “Okay, it’s almost time for me to go. I love you. Please, ask Claire and Stephen, okay? Please.”

“Sean, NO! Don’t leave me again! Please, I love you . . . don’t . . . just stay for one more minute, please.”

“I’m so sorry, Daniel, I don’t have a minute left.”

“Just stay until the time runs out! I just want to hear your voice for a little longer.”

“Okay. You know I love you, okay? You’re amazing, Daniel. You are amazing-”

_Click._

_God damn. I hope he’s okay . . ._


End file.
